Dora Hyoujihai (Dora Indicator) - How Dora Is Determined

What is Dora Hyoujihai?

Dora Hyoujihai (Dora Indicator) is the tile flipped to determine dora in mahjong. Located on the dead wall (wanpai), the 3rd tile from the left on top row is revealed, and the next tile in sequence becomes dora.

Important: The indicator itself is NOT dora - the NEXT tile in the cycle is dora. Understanding this is fundamental to mahjong.

Indicator Position

Dead wall structure (14 tiles):
Top:    □□■□□□□  ← ■ is dora indicator
Bottom: □□□□□□□

* Flip 3rd from left
* Kan reveals next right

How Dora Is Determined

Indicator	Dora	Reason
1-man	2-man	Next number
9-man	1-man	9 cycles to 1
East	South	Wind order
North	East	North cycles to East
Haku	Hatsu	Dragon order
Chun	Haku	Chun cycles to Haku

Tile Cycles

Number tiles:
1→2→3→4→5→6→7→8→9→1 (return)

Wind tiles:
East→South→West→North→East (return)

Dragon tiles:
Haku→Hatsu→Chun→Haku (return)

Types of Dora Indicators

Standard (Omote Dora)

Revealed at game start:
- Everyone sees it
- Doesn't change during game
- Strategic baseline

Kan Dora Indicator

Kan Count	Indicators	Position
0	1	Initial only
1	2	+1 right
2	3	+2 right
3	4	+3 right
4	5	+4 right

Ura Dora Indicator

Checked only on riichi win:
- Under the dora indicators
- Under kan dora too
- Max 5 (with 4 kans)

Strategic Considerations

Reading from Indicator

Use the indicator to judge:
1. Do I have dora in my hand?
2. Can I collect more dora?
3. Can I wait on dora?
4. Do opponents have dora?

Building Hands

Indicator	Good Target	Reason
4	234, 456 sequences	5 is dora, easy to use
Honor	Pairs/triplets	Can’t make sequences
1 or 9	Tanyao-type	2 or 1 as dora is edge-heavy

Akadora Relationship

Akadora unrelated to indicator:
- Always worth 1 han
- Usually 5m, 5p, 5s
- Can stack with dora

Probability

Dora in Starting Hand

Starting hand:
- 1+ dora: ~41%
- 2+ dora: ~9%
- 3+ dora: ~1%
- All 4: ~0.04%

Kan Dora Hitting

Current Dora	Kan Dora Hits
0	~41%
1	~31%
2	~19%
3	~8%

Proper Handling

Etiquette

Flip before deal
- Dealer flips
- Visible to all
- Keep it stable
Kan dora flip
- Immediately after kan
- Before rinshan draw
- Handle carefully
Confirmation
- Announce dora verbally
- “Dora is ○○”
- Get everyone’s acknowledgment

Don’t Do This

NG actions:
- Touch without permission
- Place obscurely
- Wrong timing
- Hide the indicator

Reading Opponents

Opponent Action	Dora Possibility
Cut terminals early	No dora or many dora
Cut near-dora early	Has dora
Fast riichi	Likely includes dora
Many calls	May have secured dora

Dora Suji Thinking

If indicator is 4 (dora is 5):
- Dangerous: 3-6, 4-7 ryanmen
- Caution: 5-8 ryanmen
- Relatively safe: 1-4, 6-9

Common Mistakes

Indicator IS dora confusion
- Indicator’s NEXT is dora
- Indicator itself is normal
- Most important point
Cycle mistakes
- 9’s next is 1
- North’s next is East
- Chun’s next is Haku
Forgetting kan dora
- Flip immediately after kan
- Flip the right neighbor
- Max 4 additional
Ura dora confusion
- Ura is UNDER the indicators
- Riichi win only
- Separate from omote

Dora: Bonus tiles worth 1 han
Wanpai: Dead wall (14 tiles)
Kandora: Extra dora after kan
Uradora: Under-dora for riichi
Akadora: Red bonus tiles

Summary

Dora Hyoujihai (Dora Indicator) is the tile flipped on the dead wall - the NEXT tile in sequence becomes dora. Understanding this basic rule is the first step in mahjong improvement. Learn the number and honor tile cycles, and remember that kan reveals new indicators. Dora is one of mahjong’s exciting elements, so master the indicator system and enjoy the game.